Giving Tuesday: Your Kindness Can Rewrite Someone’s Story

After a weekend spent chasing for Black Friday deals and filling online carts on Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday offers something different.

It asks us to pause, reflect, and turn our attention toward those in our community who need us most.

Across Halton and Hamilton, the need is impossible to ignore.

Seniors are being pushed to the edge by the cost of living. Families are trying to make ends meet as grocery prices climb higher. Many are one crisis away from losing the stability they have worked so hard to build.

People like Art*.

A series of personal and financial challenges left Art and his wife Meredith* living out of their car. As seniors facing health challenges and isolation, every cold night brought danger and fear.

Their turning point began with a simple box of food. Staff from a United Way-supported Seniors Food Security Program delivered groceries to their car. That small gesture became a lifeline, opening the door to much-needed support.

The agency connected Art and Meredith to a daytime warming centre, providing hot meals and, more importantly, stability, dignity, and a sense of community. From there, staff helped secure permanent housing for Art, and appropriate long-term care for Meredith, whose health needs were more complex.

Today, Art is living safely indoors and slowly rebuilding his life.

Staff are helping him gather essentials like dishes and cookware so he can settle into his new home.

He still receives food box deliveries. But now, now he’s using them to cook meals in his own kitchen.

Art often shares that without this network of support, he and Meredith may still be living in their vehicle, or might not have survived the winter at all.

In these uncertain times, a strong and coordinated network of support isn’t just helpful. It’s critical.

United Way-supported programs provide wraparound services that address the many challenges people face, including food insecurity, housing instability, mental health, isolation, and more.

Art’s story is living proof of how one connection can change everything.